🔴 Netherlands-Japan 0-0 | Italian duel, Malen v Suzuki 💥 two chances 🤯

Source Summary

At Boston Stadium, Koeman’s Netherlands make their debut, considered by many to be one of the tournament’s possible dark horses. Facing them is Moriyasu’s Japan, making the eighth World Cup appearance in its history. 💡 Want to stay updated on everything happening in the USA, Mexico and Canada? Don’t forget to bookmark the World Cup! To follow the competition, search for "World Cup" on OneFootball and click the star next to it so you won’t miss a single piece of news! Group F is completed by Sweden and Tunisia, who will face each other later in the Italian night. For the Netherlands, it is a chance to get off on the right foot and confirm their ambitions as one of the main contenders; for Japan, meanwhile, it is the opportunity to send an immediate message to the group and keep alive the dream of reaching the quarter-finals for the first time. 🔴 Article constantly updated; for live text commentary, click on the match card above. 🔥 DOUBLE chance for Japan Japan grows in confidence after the Netherlands’ strong start and tries to threaten on the counterattack. Shortly before half-time, the first chance for the Japanese falls to Nakamura, who sets himself and shoots right-footed from the edge of the box: the ball goes just wide to Verbruggen’s right. Shortly after, Ueda also tries his luck: a burst down the right and a shot toward goal, but the effort is too angled and does not hit the target. ⚔️ An all-Italian showdown: Malen vs Suzuki An aggressive start from the Netherlands, who go close to taking the lead through Malen. In the 2nd minute, the Oranje forward finds space for a shot, but Suzuki responds with a great save to keep Japan level. Ronald Koeman’s men continue to press and create two consecutive headed chances in the 34th minute: first Malen tries again, then it is van de Ven’s turn. On both occasions, however, Suzuki is alert and keeps the score level. ✅ The OFFICIAL lineups NETHERLANDS (4-3-3): Verbruggen; Dumfries, Van Hecke, Van Dijk, Van de Ven; De Jong, Garnvenberch, Reijnders; Summerville, Gakpo, Malen. Coach: Koeman. JAPAN (3-4-2-1): Suzuki; Watanabe, Taniguchi, Ito; Doan, Kamada, Sano, Nakamura; Kubo, Maeda; Ueda. Coach: Moriyasu. 📊 Qualification and head-to-head The Netherlands qualified for the 2026 World Cup by winning European qualifying Group G with 20 points. The Oranje recorded wins against Finland (2-0 and 4-0), Malta (8-0 and 4-0) and Lithuania (3-2 and 4-0), while drawing both matches against Poland (1-1 and 1-1). It was also a dominant campaign for Japan. After winning Group B of the second Asian qualifying round with six wins from six matches against Myanmar, Syria and North Korea, Moriyasu’s side also finished top of the third round with 23 points, ahead of Australia. There have been three official meetings between the two national teams. The only one played at a World Cup dates back to the 2010 FIFA World Cup, when the Netherlands won 1-0 thanks to a goal from Wesley Sneijder. The other meetings were two friendlies: a 3-0 Dutch win in 2009 and a 2-2 draw in 2013. This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇮🇹 here.